Apparatus for pelleting carbon black



Nov. 18,1941. ls, c, c v 2263,118 I APPARATUS FOR PELLETING CARBON BLACK Filedilay 16, 1939 4; Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1

INVENTOR SAMUEL C. CARNEY Nov. 18, 1941.. s. Q'cARNEY Y I 2,263,118

APPARATUS FOR PELLETING CARBON BLACK 7 Filed May 16, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

INVENTOR SAMUEL CARNEY Nov. 18,1941. s. c. CARNEY 2,263,118

APPARATUS FOR PELLETING CARBON BLACK i Filed lay 16, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 4

INVENTOR SAMUEL c. CARNEY NOV. 18,1941. s. c. CARNEY 2,2 3

APPARATUS FOR PELLETING CARBON BLACK Filed lay 15, 19:59 4 She ets-Sheet 4 Fla. 6

mvsmon SAMUEL c. CARNEY Patented Nov. 18, 1941 Samuel C. Carney, Bartlesville, th.. alignor to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Application May is, use, Serial No. man: '6 0mm (01. 25M) My invention relates to apparatus for use in pelleting carbon black and more particularly to apparatus for'transiorming the dusty li ht carbon as produced into pellets without any preliminary densiflcation of theblack or any foreign substance being added to the black to effect agglomeration.

An important object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for agglomerating dusty light carbon black particles in a closed cycle in accordance with the process set forth in applicant's copending application Serial No. 259,065 filed February 28, 1939.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus to which the dusty light carbon black particles will be less likely to adhere. during the process of agglomeration.

A still further object of the invention is. to provide an apparatus which is less expensive to manufacturethan present apparatus used in the dry process for agglomerating carbon black, the

power requirements for operation of the appara-' tus are materially less and the apparatus operates with a greater degree of certainty with less chance for failure of the process.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings. forming a part of this specification, and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

with-4 such drums used in a cycle. The cylin-' drical part of the drum may be a light, skeleton construction for its sole purpose is to maintain the hose or conduit in position so as to make of the hose orconduit an Archimedes spiral.

In pouring granules down a stationary tube or incline at a fixed rate, say 1,000 pounds per ,minute, the cross-section determines the velocity.

This is not true when movement is in a moving annulus or tube. Here relative velocity is that of the moving wall of the apparatus and the moving container may therefore, have any desired cross-section to give any desired residence time to a closed cycle process, and the effective velocity of movement is the peripheral speed of the apparatus.

There are clear advantages to the use of rubber tubes as against metal apparatus because of the ease of construction, freedom from carbon sticking to the walls and the better surface of rubber for inducing rotary motion. There are also distinct advantages to a closed cycle with an adjustable cycle ratio against the feed stream.

The drum i has a shaft 3 going throughthe center thereof mounted in suitable bearings in the head portions 4 and 5 of the drum. At each end of the drum, supporting members 6 and 'I be attached to the shaft 3 to ,rotate the drum I Figure 1 is a side elevational view of one type of apparatus of the present invention,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration, is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral I designates a drum having spirally wrapped thereon a rubber hose .or conduit 2. The hose or conduit has a smooth inner surface and is suitably-reinforced by fabric and wire so as to retain a circular cross-section. For a practical sized unit, pelleting 10 pounds of carbon black per minute, the drum will be about 8 feet in diameter, 5 feet long and wrapped This motor means forms no part of the invention and may be any known motor means, preferably some electric motor.

The numeral 8 represents the inlet line through which the cyclic granules, in amount 50 to 100 times the total feed, flow continuously from one rotating unit to another and back to the first Line I enters the rotating chamber l0 through the stationary cover plate II which is held loose- 1y by springs I2 against the rotating nozzle flange l3.

Referring now to Figure 3, rotation of the chamber II is indicated by the arrow A. The circumference of the chamber It is cut at I4 and nozzle i5 is set into the opening. Nozzle ii is designed so that an internal scoop picks up material in chamber II and delivers it through with a hose or conduit 8 inches in diameter the coupling it into the end of the continuous scoops I 9 upon reaching the extreme upwardlyposition in their rotation, discharge the granules of carbon black which they have picked up in the lower portion of the chamber into the spout 2|. The spout 2| connects directly into the discharge line 20 and is also adjustable as indicated in Figure 2 of the drawings. By adjusting the spout 2|, the amount of granules withdrawn from the discharge chamber I! can be regulated. Into line 20 is fed by line 22 a further increment of raw feed and line 20 enters the inlet chamber of a similar unit in series.

In operation of the apparatus line 8 conveys granules of carbon black to the inlet end of the rubber hose 2 by means of the inlet chamber III. The line 9 adds raw feed and also seed material if desired to the line 8. The drum I may be one of four operating in series and the line 8 may connect into another drum member I. The drum I is rotated by the shaft 3 and seed and raw material in the inlet chamber I is scooped up from the bottom of the chamber by means of the scoop i and enters the rubber hose 2. The amount of material in process is such that there will be no carry over in the rubber hose as the hose is rotated, but the material will gently roll and advance along the Archimedes spiral. The

produce this clogging condition. The material in process discharges into the chamber H at' the other end of the drum by means of the nozzle outlet [8. The granules are picked up from the bottom of the chamber H by the scoops IS. Th spout 2| which connects into the discharge line 20 may be adjusted at any angle desirable for the output of product required. The scoops I9 always remain the same size and any excess of material delivered by the scoops l9 to the spout 2i wil1 just fall to the bottom of the chamber I1. The amount of material removed from the chamber I1 is the same amount as enters the chamber ID. The discharge from chamber I1 enters line 20 which is joined by line 22 and line 20 enters another drum unit I.

The reason for dividing the rotating mechanism into four or more similar units is primarily to permit the introduction of feed at several points in the cycle flow so that there will not be enough at any point to clog the rolling motion of the granules and so that there will be enough present throughout the Archimedes spiral to lubricate the granules against mutual attrition. A consequence of this division into units is that each becomes short enough to be built lightly and mounted on a shaft which is more trouble free than the heavy metal cylinders mounted on trunnions of the prior art. The units may be arranged in a straight line with the discharge of the last, less the amount removed from the cycle for sifting as product, re-

turned to the inlet of the first by any suitable conveyor; or they may be arranged in two parallel lines, the cyclic material going out through one line and coming back to the inlet of the first unit by way of the second line.

The amount, and therefore the ratio, of cycle flow to feed may be governed by means of the gross amount of material contained in the spiral. The amount with which it is originally charged obviously governs the angular portion of each coil of the spiral that is filled and this may be increased or diminished by drawing off or adding to the cyclic material during operation.

Within the limits of clogging rotary motion of the granulator, or the other extreme, of failing to lubricate them against attrition, there is a control by means of the amount of feed introduced at various points. For example, no feed need be introduced at the last unit upstream from the point, of drawing off product, thus giving the granules a final polish, free from feed, just before product is removed.

The control of fiow velocity is by means of the speed of rotationof the rotating units and this flow velocity may be controlled independently of the cross section of the hose used or the gross amount of material contained in it. Seed for this cycle may be made by diverting a controlled portion through any adjustable device for breaking it, such controlled proportion to include first those granules sifted from the product as being oversize.

Figure 4 shows another design of apparatus which carries forward the same principles as previously described. The apparatus is exactly the same as Figure 1 in principle but instead of having a number of separate units in series, the disclosure in Figure 4 uses in one unit both a right hand 2" and left hand 2' spiral of rubber hose, the hose 2 being wrapped on the outside of the supporting shell i and the hose 2' being spirally coiled within and clamped to the inner surface of the supporting shell I.

The rotor or cylindrical drum or shell I is built of either wood or steel and is mounted to rotate on a horizontal shaft 3' by any suitable motor means. The shell I serves only as a support for the coiled-hose 2 and 2" and need not be of rigid or heavy construction but possessed of enough strength to serve as a supporting means only. At each end of the shell or drum l' and concentrically mounted on the shaft 3' are mounted the flat circular housing members 4' and 5' which are termed mixing and turning cells. The diameter of these cells (at right angle to the shaft) is less than the diameter of the cylindrical support by twice the overall diameter of the hose used. Each turning cell is provided with two radial nozzles l4 and 22'; I8 and 23' respectively, spaced degrees apart. One nozzle on each end cell has a long sweep, namely nozzles 14 and II, so that it may be flanged to the end of the hose 2" wrapped externally on the shell or drum I. The other nozzles 22' and 23' on each end cell have a short sweep so they may be flanged to the ends of the hose 2 wrapped internally within the shell. .On the end cell 4', both nozzles face right while those on the end cell 5 at the opposite end of the rotor both face left. The hose, both internal and external, is attached firmly to the supporting shell by clamps. The internal arrangement of the chambers l0 and I1 is shown in Figures 5 and 6, with the chamber l0 having the scoop 22" which delivers material from chamber l0 to the inner a conduit spirally wound on said rotatable suphose 2. The hose 2"has the outlet 23' on the opposite ;end which delivers thematerial from the inner hose 2' to the chamber II. From chamber ll, scoop l8" delivers the material 'from chamber l1 to the external hose 2" and outlet l4 onthe opposite end of the hose 2" de livers the material back to chamber Hi.

The whole arrangement amounts to a double spiral annulus which moves the granular material in a closed cycle from one mixing chamber to the other and back. The unit is fed atone or preferably both ends with raw feed and seed made in separate apparatus as clearly described in applicant's copending application, Serial No. 259,065 filed February 28, 1939. Clearly the greater the content of the apparatus, so long as material is not carried over the top in the hose, the more power is required to drive it. A recording ammeter shows the power required and therefore continuously indicates the weight of material in the closed cycle. There is removed at either end, even-though it is being fed at both ends, product at such a rate as to hold the ammeter at constant load.

In this installation it is contemplated using 8 inch hose, two turns inside and 10 turns on the outside of a 10-foot diameter drum, making 500,

feet of hose which will require that the drum be only 10 feet long and thus will give capacity for 14,000 pounds per day of feed.

The cell 5, the end at which the product is taken out, is provided with product lifting cups I9 located as shown in Figure 5 which will elevate material coming from the hose 2' discharging into chamber I l and drop it into the product spout 2|. Though the lifting cups l9 dip and elevate a constant amount, by rotation of the product spout as shown in dotted line, more or less product is removed from the chamber II or the spout 2! may be so adjusted that no product is removed at all.

The double Archimedes spiral is set level, but it positively moves material in both directions at the same time, so that the material in process repeatedly passes points of feeding and of product removal. The small and lar e sizes, together with the feed and seed, are also repeatedly mixed in the end cells 4' and 5'. Besides being a practical way to use rubber as the surface material, a

to which carbon does not cling, there is about 20% more of this better rubber surface than in a metal annulus of the same cubic content.

-The broad principles which have been set out in applicant's copending application, Serial No. 259,065, filed February 28, 1939, having to do with closed cycle, relative size of seed, maintenance in the cycle stream of granules larger than the product and geometrical limit to the size of these, apply equally to both disclosures which are also closed cycle processes. 9

It is to be understood that the form of my in vention, herewith shown and described, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in shape, size, and arrangement of parts, may be resorted to without'departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. Apparatus for agglomerating carbon black which comprises a rotatable supporting structure.

porting structure and rotatable therewith, a chamber on one end of the rotatable supporting structure from which thecarbon black to be agglomerated is introduced to-the spiral conduit, and a chamber at the other end of therotatable supporting stmctur'eto receive the processed blackfrom the spiral conduit, the carbon black itself in movement from one end to the other of the spiral conduit being the active mechanism which effects agglomeration.

2. Apparatus for agglomerating carbon black which comprises a rotatable supporting structure. a rubber hose spirally wound on said rotatable supporting structure and rotatable therewith, a chamber on one end of the rotatable supporting structure from which the carbon black to be asglomerated is introduced to the rubber hose and a chamber at the other end of the rotatable supporting structure to receive the processed'black from the spiral rubber hose, the carbon black itself in movement from one end to the other of the spiral rubber hose being the active mechanism which affects agglomeration.

3. Apparatus for agglomerating carbon black which comprises a rotatable supporting structure, a conduit spirally wound on said rotatable supporting structure, a second conduit spirally wound in the opposite direction and externally of the first conduit and a chamber at each end of the supporting structure to receive processed carbon black from one conduit and to provide feed for the other conduit.

4. Apparatus for agglomerating carbon black which comprises a rotatable supporting structure, a rubber hose spirally wound on said rotatable supporting structure, a second rubber hose spirally wound in the opposite direction and externally of the first rubber hose and a chamber at each end of the supporting structure to receive processed carbon black from one of the rubber goses and to provide feed for the other rubber ose.

5. Apparatus for agglomerating carbon black which comprises a rotatable supporting structure, a conduit spirally wound on said rotatable supporting structure, a second conduit spirally wound in the opposite direction and externally of back again in the spiral conduits being the active mechanism which efl'ects agglomeration.

6. Apparatus for agglomerating carbon black which comprises a rotatable supporting structure, a rubber hose spirally wound on said rotatable supporting structure, a second rubber hose spirally wound in the opposite direction and externally of the first rubber hose and a chamber at each end of the supporting structure to receive the processed carbon black from one hose member and to provide feed for the other hose member. the carbon black itself in movement from one end to the other and back again'in the spirally woundrubber hoses being the active mechanism which effects agglomeration.

SAMUEL C. CARNEY.

v 'CERTiFICA'i'E OF'CORRECI'ION. Patent No. 2,265,118.' November 18, 19h1,

SAMUEL C. CARNEY.

It is hereby certifiel that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5, first column, line 26, for the word "two" read -ten--; and that the said Letters Patent. should be read withthis correction therein that the same may conform to the record of ihe case in the Patent Office.

Signed. and sealed this 5rd day of March, A. D. 19h2.

Henry Van Arsdale,

Seal) Acting Commie si one'r of Patents. 

